Mark Knopfler Discography
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 Mark KnopflerShangri-La Release Date 2004 09 28 Label Warner Bros. Rating:  Shangri-La, Mark Knopfler's fourth solo release and his first since breaking his collarbone, shoulder, and seven ribs in a motorcycle crash in March 2003, finds the eternally laid-back Dire Straits frontman in familiar territory. Instead of constructing a song cycle about his brush with mortality -- the wry &"Don't Crash the Ambulance" aside -- he uses his warm baritone and effortless guitar work to ruminate on everything from the plight of the modern fisherman -- the beautiful and rustic &"Trawlerman's Song" -- to the entrepreneurial skills of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc (&"Boom, Like That"). Knopfler has more or less abandoned the British folk and Celtic-influenced pop that began to surface on his previous two recordings, opting instead for a full-blown yet quiet and considerate collection of country-folk ballads and bluesy, midtempo dirges that revel in their uncharacteristic sparseness -- one of the better examples of the latter is the gutsy, backwoods boxing tale &"Song for Sonny Liston." Knopfler spent seven months away from the guitar in physiotherapy, but his melancholic slow-burn tone is as peat-smoked as ever, and his penchant for wrapping Americana-gothic folk around subjects that are uniquely English -- colliers, cockneys, the one-armed bandit man who meets his maker in the atmospheric opener, &"5:15 A.M." -- is evident throughout. Dynamically, Shangri-La loses steam about three-quarters of the way through -- the cringe-inducing &"Whoop De Doo" and the sweet but dull &"All That Matters" bring things to a sleepy halt -- but Knopfler fans and lovers of Chet Atkins, Gordon Lightfoot, and J.J. Cale, as well as late-night poker players and early risers with an acerbic streak, will find much to love here. [A version of Shangri-La containing a bonus DVD/DVA is also available.] James Christopher Monger, Rovi |
Tracks:
| Title | Composer | Time | |
| 1 | 5.15 A.M. | Knopfler | 5:54 |
| 2 | Boom, Like That | Knopfler | 5:49 |
| 3 | Sucker Row | Knopfler | 4:56 |
| 4 | Trawlerman's Song | Knopfler | 5:02 |
| 5 | Back to Tupelo | Knopfler | 4:31 |
| 6 | Our Shangri-La | Knopfler | 5:41 |
| 7 | Everybody Pays | Knopfler | 5:24 |
| 8 | Song for Sonny Liston | Knopfler | 5:06 |
| 9 | Whoop De Doo | Knopfler | 3:53 |
| 10 | Postcards from Paraguay | Knopfler | 4:07 |
| 11 | All That Matters | Knopfler | 3:08 |
| 12 | Stand Up Guy | Knopfler | 4:32 |
| 13 | Donegan's Gone | Knopfler | 3:05 |
| 14 | Don't Crash the Ambulance | Knopfler | 5:06 |
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